Paterson's approval rating plummeting

With recent data showing Gov. David Paterson’s approval ratings plummeting, local officials and residents voiced a range of concerns about the state’s leadership.

JENNIFER BOGDAN

With recent data showing Gov. David Paterson’s approval ratings plummeting, local officials and residents voiced a range of concerns about the state’s leadership.

Siena Research Institute spokesman Steven Greenberg said the most recent data released by the institute showing the governor’s job approval rating at just 32 percent has left him in a difficult place with voters.

Despite approval ratings in the mid 60s in January, both upstate and downstate residents are now focused on concerns over how the state budget process was handled, Greenberg said.

“He did really well with voters in his first 10 months,” Greenberg said. “But now from upstate to downstate, his numbers are bad across the board.”

Utica resident Steven Max said he hasn’t been happy with Paterson’s time in office largely because of tax hikes and the state budget process.

“It’s ridiculous,” Max said. “In an area like this, the dollar means more. He’s taking more from us, and it hurts the area.”

But Oneida County Democratic Committee Chairman Bill Barry said he believed the governor’s low approval ratings will eventually turn around.

Barry said Paterson has been making tough business decisions that are in the people’s best interest.

“I think everyone’s hoping their favorite project will get completed and when he says there’s no money, people get upset,” Barry said. “He’s a very honest businessman who’s being honest with the public and doing his job. I think people will eventually realize that.”

Taxes, budgets and race
Earlier this month in a radio interview, Paterson suggested racial bias has motivated some of his critics. Since those remarks were made, Paterson has said he believes he’s been victim to some negative racial stereotyping but that he doesn’t blame his problems on that.

Paterson’s comments about race were met with criticism by David Dinkins, New York City’s first black mayor.

“Definitely he should get off the racist thing. Right or wrong, it’s a fight you sure can’t win," Dinkins told the New York Times.

Mohawk Valley Community College student Regina Moses said she hasn’t been happy with Paterson’s work in office. Still, she said she found it hard to believe that his approval ratings would be tied to race. Instead, she said, high taxes and budget cuts were her chief concerns.

“Race does not matter to me at all,” Moses said. “If you believe in what I believe in, and you’re doing a good job for the people, then I’ll support you.”

Cigarettes a local sore spot
For local residents, frustrations with Paterson also could be tied to a recent decision not to collect tax on Indian cigarettes sold to non-Indians, Oneida County Republican Party Chairman George Joseph said.

That’s an issue that’s especially hot in this area. Oneida County could stand to gain about $3 million annually in cigarette tax revenue from the Oneida Indian Nation if the state were to follow through on the collections, officials project.

This past December in Utica, Paterson signed a controversial law intended to enforce the collection of those taxes. The measure was projected to bring with it $65 million in this year’s budget.

Recently, though, the administration removed that amount from the state’s budget forecast.
The state has sought to resolve the issue for nearly two decades, but it remains unresolved well into the 2009-10 budget year.

“That’s probably the sorest wound we have,” Joseph said. “He started out very positively. I think everyone had hope he could bring us together as far as bipartisanship, but I think right now he’s just out of his league.”